In many instances, the umbilical cord, like the placenta, is discarded after birth. However, it has been discovered that at least certain constituents of the umbilical cord may have a special usefulness. In a recent advance in the treatment of bone marrow defects in infants, physicians used the blood cells from the umbilical cord of an infant to aid in the regeneration of the stem cells in an older sibling. The blood was separated from the umbilical cord, subsequently frozen, and stored for seven months prior to infusion. Upon thawing, the cells were intravenously infused into the body of the recipient youngster. This technique provides several advantages over conventional marrow transplantation. Using the cord blood in this instance enabled transplant as soon as a compatible sibling was born, while candidates for marrow transplant generally must wait until the newborn is at least six months old. In addition, the procedure eliminates for the donor the pain of marrow extraction.
The use of umbilical cord blood for allogeneic and hematopoietic reconstitution in siblings has been since used in a number of cases. Clearly, umbilical cord blood represents a vase natural resource for medical, research and even identification purposes.
The amount of blood in the umbilical cord represents but a portion of the blood of an infant which is conventionally discarded at birth. The other portion of that disgarded blood resides in the placenta.